The title for this post could have been “Deja Vu”, or “Another Giuoco of a game” if I’d been so inclined. The mood, at least chess-wise, is somber rather than clever however! This post is part of my ongoing quest to beat Fritz 12 at a high level of strength. Today I’m afraid I bring you further evidence of human frailty, and the results of it are predictable.
For your amusement I’ve recorded in the text the amount of time I took to make a move within the notation. Bear in mind the time control of the game was 90 minutes. You can clearly see by how quickly I moved that the imperturbability of my opponent affected me psychologically. The speed of my play here does not lend itself to the delicate balance of offense and defense required to win a chess game. A strong opponent usually manages to find quite a few creative puzzles for you to solve. It is one thing to reap a harvest of material but it is another to do while you have to assess their own, simultaneous threats. So what I want you to look at is you play through is:
a) White’s play, while imperfect, demonstrates the unnervingly consistent fighting style every human player should embrace. White is never winning or losing but simply engaged fully in the act of playing chess. The likely result is irrelevant.
b) When the position requires a shift in approach black is slow to adapt.
c) Tactical errors, both of commission and omission, impact the flow of the game.
d) Black is lulled to sleep by the maneuvering nature of the game.
e) Did I learn anything? Did you? In five years will we know the Italian Game deeper than we do now? Are we improving or moving pieces?
These questions can’t be tackled all at once, but as we return to the game we will revisit them in the annotations. Content yourself with playing through the opening and sitting with the position after white’s fifth move. There’s a brilliant struggle unfolding and to compete in it you’ve got to understand the rules that govern it.
Fritz 12 (1650) -Giofreda 12 1580 (Game in 90)
1. e4 {0} e5 {2} 2. Nf3 {2} Nc6 {1} 3. Bc4 {1} Nf6 {5} 4. d3 {0} Bc5 {25} 5. c3: Many players express disdain for this typical opening position. White is simply going to play d4 and make a large claim to the center. He will push black’s bishop back to b6 in turn and have no more than a slight advantage.
After 5. c3
5…{0} O-O {24} 6. O-O {0} d6 {13} 7. Nbd2 {0} Bg4 {3} 8. h3 {0} Bh5 {4} 9. Re1 {0
} Na5 {25} 10. b4 {0} Nxc4 {2} 11. Nxc4 {0} Bb6 {5} 12. Bg5 {0} h6 {12} 13.
Nxb6 {0} axb6 {3} 14. Be3 {0} Qd7 {30} 15. Rf1 {0} Ra3 {12} 16. d4 {0} Bxf3 {22
} 17. Qxf3 {0} Rxc3 {6} 18. Rac1 {0} Ra3 {13} 19. dxe5 {0} dxe5 {4} 20. Rfd1 {0
} Qe7 {9} 21. Bc5 {0} Qxc5 {35} 22. Qxa3 {0} Qe7 {14} 23. f3 {0} Nh5 {9} 24.
Qc3 {0} Nf4 {5} 25. Qxc7 {0} Qxb4 {9} 26. Rc2 {0} Qa4 {53} 27. Rcd2 {0} Ne2+ {
10} 28. Kh1 {0} Ng3+ {2} 29. Kh2 {0} Nxe4 {9} 30. fxe4 {0} Qxe4 {1} 31. Rf1 {1}
Qb4 {35} 32. Rd7 {1} e4 {15} 33. Rdxf7 {1} Rxf7 {4} 34. Qxf7+ {2} Kh8 {2} 35.
Rd1 {3} e3 {17} 36. Rd8+ {4} Kh7 {4} 37. Qf5+ {5} g6 {2} 38. Qf7# {2} 1-0